Digital with SUMMARY Purpose: Delivering a GESISMARTer2030 GESI Contents
Foreword 4
Key Messages 6
Executive Summary 10 GESICase Studies 22 AT&T 24
Deutsche Telekom 28
EIT Climate-KIC 32
T-Mobile 36
Verizon 40
This document is an excerpt from the full report, for more information visit: digitalwithpurpose.gesi.org 2 About the authors Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030
About the authors
About GeSI About Deloitte The Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) is a strategic Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu partnership of the Information and Communication Technology Limited (“DTTL”), its global network of member firms, and their (ICT) sector and organisations committed to creating and promoting related entities. DTTL (also referred to as “Deloitte Global”) and technologies and practices that foster economic, environmental and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent social sustainability. Formed in 2001, GeSI’s vision is a sustainable world entities. DTTL does not provide services to clients. Please through responsible, ICT-enabled transformation. GeSI fosters global see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more. and open cooperation, informs the public of its members’ voluntary actions to improve their sustainability performance, and promotes Deloitte is a leading global provider of audit and assurance, technologies that foster sustainable development. consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax and related services. Our network of member firms in more than 150 countries and GeSI enjoys a diverse and global membership, representing around territories serves four out of five Fortune Global 500® companies. 40 of the world’s leading ICT companies and partners with over Learn how Deloitte’s more than 286,000 people make an impact that 12 global business and international organisations such as the matters at www.deloitte.com International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the United Nations GESIFramework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the United Deloitte Consulting delivers strategy and implementation, from a Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the World Business Council business and technology view, to help clients lead in the markets for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the World Resources Forum where they compete. Association (WRFA) - as well as a range of international stakeholders committed to ICT sustainability objectives to share and develop ideas, Deloitte’s Purpose and Sustainability Strategy team in particular helps launch joint initiatives, and collaborate on a broad range of sustainability clients to articulate their role in society, embed a commitment to societal projects. These partnerships help shape GeSI’s global vision regarding impact into their core business model, and measure that impact to the evolution of the ICT sector, and how it can best meet the challenges ensure long-term success. of sustainable development. For more information, see www.gesi.org Deloitte’s Economic Consulting team combine analytical foresight with CONTACT INFORMATION commercial acumen to shape strategy and policy that unlocks economic, Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) financial and social value. c/o Scotland House, Rond Point Schuman 6 CONTACT INFORMATION 1040 Brussels, Belgium Purpose and sustainability strategy consulting: Tel: +32 2 282 84 42 [email protected] Fax: +32 2 282 84 14 Economic Consulting: General enquiries: [email protected] or [email protected] [email protected] Press enquiries: [email protected] UK Chair: [email protected]
Acknowledgements
The Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative and Deloitte thank the Case study development: AT&T: John Schulz, Louise Stimie, Tim many people who have contributed, including use case providers and Fleming; Deutsche Telekom: Birgit Klesper, Michael Kimberger; EIT subject matter experts, who generously provided their time, insights, and Climate-KIC: Felicity Spors, Rahul Bansal, Sira Saccani; T-Mobile: Alex feedback to strengthen the quality of this report. Rosenthal, Chad Wilkerson; Verizon: James Gowen, Serhad Doken, Particular thanks go to the core #DIGITALWITHPURPOSE team: Matthew Smith-Marino, Sanyogita Shamsunder, Winfred Chao, GeSI project lead: Luis Neves Greta Knappenberger Supporting team: Yanying Li, Andrew Lewis Deloitte Consulting: Sam Baker, Rafi Addlestone, Claire Butler, Hannah Steering committee: AT&T: Tim Fleming; Dell: John Pflueger; Telstra: White, Ollie Harris, Elena Kalyva, Justine Autour, Matthew Raja Kumar, Pauline Gregg; Taiwan Mobile: Iris Liu; EIT Climate-KIC: Sira Saccani Tash Abrahams, Hope Davidson, Harry Burton Expert panel: Christiana Figueres, Jeffrey Sachs, Elizabeth Corley, Deloitte Economic Consulting: Sam Blackie, Andy Tong, Matthew Lise Fuhr, Carlo Jaeger, Malcolm Johnson, Georg Kell, Dirk Messner, Sinclair, Nicola Delf, Ian Rodger, Lisa Reisch Nick Owen (Deloitte LLP), Chris Tuppen, Veerle Vandeweerd Design support: Tenacity Works www.tenacityworks.com
Copyright © GeSI 2019. All rights reserved. Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 About the authors 3 GESIGold Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
Disclaimer This publication has been prepared by Deloitte MCS under the terms Deloitte MCS Limited is registered in England and Wales with registered of the contract with GeSI. This publication has been written in general number 03311052 and its registered office at Hill House, 1 Little New terms and therefore cannot be relied on to cover specific situations; Street, London, EC4A 3TR, United Kingdom. application of the principles set out will depend upon the particular circumstances involved and we recommend that you obtain professional Deloitte MCS Limited is a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP, which is the United advice before acting or refraining from acting on any of the contents Kingdom affiliate of Deloitte NSE LLP, a member firm of Deloitte Touche of this publication. Deloitte MCS Limited would be pleased to advise Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee (“DTTL”). readers on how to apply the principles set out in this publication to their DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent specific circumstances. Deloitte MCS Limited accepts no duty of care or entities. DTTL and Deloitte NSE LLP do not provide services to clients. liability for any loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more about our global action as a result of any material in this publication. network of member firms. © 2019 Deloitte MCS Limited. All rights reserved. 4 Foreword Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030
Foreword
The Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) is made up of leading ICT companies, partners and international organisations, all committed to achieving integrated social, environmental and economic sustainability as defined by the transformative Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda.
Our vision is to create a sustainable world through responsible, ICT-enabled transformation, using the SDGs as a central framework for action. In particular, GESIwe are focused on researching and addressing climate change (SDG 13), by accelerating the development of digital solutions to usher in an era of innovation and low-carbon growth.
We are proud to introduce this new report, #DigitalWithPurpose, which identifies and quantifies the ways in which digital technologies, both established and cutting-edge, are capable of delivering transformative impact against each of the 17 SDGs. It also clearly lays out where these technologies can have a negative impact.
The opportunity, both for the ICT sector and the sectors and organisations at the forefront of deployment, is enormous. Given the slow pace of progress against the SDGs, it is also non-negotiable. We conclude this report with some specific commitments for all who are on this journey – the first commitment being to share a common purpose to secure a SMARTer2030.
We are grateful to Deloitte, all the GeSI members and the amazing high-level group of external experts who have supported us in developing this thorough and powerful report. We do hope you find it useful and agree to join us, commit, and take action.
Luis Neves James Gowen GeSI CEO GeSI Chairman Verizon CSO Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 Foreword 5
The Sustainable Development Goals represent the opportunity for our generation to move the world onto a sustainable path. At Deloitte, we place our role in society at the heart of what we do. Our purpose is to make an impact that matters and we embed this ideal in our work every day. By helping our clients to succeed sustainably; by operating responsibly and through our corporate responsibility programmes; we are dedicated to making GESIa global impact. Digital technology is interwoven into all that we do. But digital technology in and of itself does not deliver impact. Rather, it’s how we develop and deploy technology that matters.
Through this report, we stand with GeSI to call on the ICT sector, on business, and on governments, to commit to ‘Digital with Purpose.’ This means taking on the 2030 Agenda as our own. It means calling out our intended contribution to the delivery of the SDGs. And, it means identifying how we can use digital technology to maximise our impact.
As detailed in this report, digital technology is already being used in ways that can help drive incredible positive change in our world. But there is still so much more to do. Together with our clients, we at Deloitte are committed to help meet this challenge so that we can all enjoy a sustainable future.
Punit Renjen Global CEO, Deloitte 6 Key Messages Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030
Key messages Urgent intervention is required On its current trajectory, the world will be unable to deliver the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.1 Our biosphere is under threat from rising carbon emissions, our society sees persistent inequality and lack of access to basic services, and our economy continues to drive the unsustainable consumption of natural GESIresources. Climate action (SDG 13) is a critical precondition for the 2030 Agenda. Addressing the climate crisis transcends geography and local interests and is an issue that nation states have committed to; but one that requires truly integrated and innovative solutions. Digital technologies are having a powerful impact In the face of this challenge, digital technologies, the powerful collection of seven technologies2 that increasingly pervade our lives, drive positive progress across the 2030 Agenda in four key ways. They help us:
• Connect & Communicate, opening up relationships, information, ideas and opportunity; • Monitor & Track the world around us, so that our impact is transparent and we can make targeted interventions; • Analyse vast swathes of information; Optimise processes, procedures and resource productivity; and Predict where we need to intervene; and • Augment our human abilities and Autonomate systems to carry out activities on our behalf by creating an ‘active bridge’ between the physical and digital worlds. Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 Key Messages 7
Of the 169 SDG targets, 103 are directly influenced by these technologies, with established examples of deployment that provide insight into their potential to make an impact. Analysis of 20 targets and their indicators across the SDGs shows that the expected deployment of existing digital technologies will, on average, help accelerate progress by 22% and mitigate GESIdownward trends by 23%.
Digital technologies can and need to contribute more Whilst digital technologies will help close the gap to some of the 2030 targets, performance against approximately a third of targets analysed is expected to deteriorate even after increased technology adoption. Digital technologies need to do much more, and there is plenty to suggest they can: • This report analyses the emissions abatement potential of seven existing applications. It is estimated that emissions abated in 2030 as a result of greater adoption of these use cases will be equivalent to nearly seven times the size of the growth in the total ICT sector emissions footprint between now and 2030. • A more optimistic scenario featuring ambitious policy and sector interventions could reverse the growth of the ICT sector footprint and enable emissions reduction equivalent to 9% of total world emissions. • Over $3 trillion is likely to be spent on research and development in the ICT sector in the ten years up to 2030, indicating huge potential for innovative solutions to the SDGs if effectively directed and as existing technologies mature. Digital technologies can also be deployed in ways that counter the Goals: fuelling consumption; hardening the digital divide; creating dislocation in the labour markets; and consolidating power of the few over the many. Enhancing the positive impact needs to go hand in hand with minimising any negative impacts. 8 Key Messages Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030
Key messages Digital with purpose is the way forward To fully support the transformation required by the SDGs, digital technologies need to be developed and deployed with positive societal impact in mind and within a context of shared aspiration: digital with purpose. Digital with purpose has three components: • Commitments for all; GESI• Leadership by the ICT sector; and • Roles for each of the key stakeholder groups.
Commitments for all All organisations and individuals need to make four “universal commitments”:
1) recommit to the 2030 Agenda;
2) state their intended impact on the SDGs, including a specific commitment to reduce greenhouse gases by 50% by 2030;3
3) embrace the principles of transparency and collaboration; and
4) harness the power of digital technologies to support these commitments.
Organisations need to do this to secure not only all our futures, but also their own long-term success. The two are increasingly, indivisibly, interdependent.
Leadership by the ICT sector According to analysis by Arabesque, the ICT sector performs well across a range of broad environmental, social and governance themes – relative to the wider market. This provides a good basis for the sector to provide sector-level leadership and individual organisation dedication to: • Lead on the universal commitments, recognising the need to collectively support the entire 2030 Agenda. This includes areas that may be more difficult to deliver with existing business models, e.g. providing digital access to all; • Build impact transparency across the ICT sector; partner sectors; at individual, village, city, state, country levels; and globally. To help build the data, systems and governance to link activities to impact on the SDGs, enhancing impact and locking in longer term success; • Recognise and address negative externalities. This will necessarily include investment to better understand contexts, cause and effects, and potential solutions to mitigate the negative impacts; and • Operate responsibly. The sector, and particularly the services subsector, needs the credibility of both acting, and being seen to act, as the responsible sector if it is to lead on this broader agenda. Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 Key Messages 9
Roles for each of the key stakeholder groups Critical stakeholder groups include governments, NGOs, institutional investors, businesses and partner sectors, and citizens. Each group needs to embrace the universal commitments, and for each this report proposes some specific additional commitments, with the single most important for each being: • Governments: work with the ICT sector, NGOs, investors and other stakeholders to develop precompetitive approaches to ensure more equal access to the benefits of digital technology, both inter- and intra-economy; • NGOs: hold stakeholder groups to account for their use of digital technologies, and help form multi-sector partnerships with the ICT sector to drive impact; • Institutional investors: demand evidence of commitment to the 2030 Agenda and transparency of impact from investee companies. Utilise the capability of ICT sector GESIto help evolve impact transparency together; • Businesses and partner sectors: deploy digital technologies with an understanding of their impact, and recognise and help manage negative externalities; and • Citizens: become educated on the role of digital technologies in the 2030 Agenda, take responsibility for positive and negative impacts of personal usage and use power as a consumer to promote impact.
GeSI commits to delivering a SMARTer2030 GeSI, its members and partners stand by these commitments and announce their intention to work across the industry and with the key stakeholder groups to make Digital with Purpose a reality. Join us! 10 Executive Summary Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 Executive summary
1 Introduction More informed and purposeful development and deployment of digital technologies will catalyse GESIprogress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This report builds on GeSI’s previous work, particularly Digital technologies could have a transformational impact the ‘Smart’ series; and through research, dialogue with on our ability to meet the 2030 Agenda. This, however, over 40 GeSI members and partner organisations and requires both the ICT sector and the key sectors (or the challenge of a distinguished expert panel, lays out ‘partner sectors’) who deploy these technologies to put the following: this Agenda more intentionally at the centre of who they are and what they do. It also requires a substantially • Digital technologies: an introduction to the enhanced understanding of how actions lead to impact technologies explored in the report and an overview of on the achievement of the SDGs, be they the actions of the opportunities they provide to develop and deploy for government, businesses, NGOs, or citizens. maximum impact on the SDGs; This report comes at a time when the world is waking • Impact on the SDGs: the impact these technologies up, albeit slowly, to the existential challenge it faces have now and will have in the future, supported by from climate change and to the slow progress against a deep dive which details the opportunities for each the broader 2030 Agenda, which has such profound Goal individually; implications for everyone. This awakening is resulting • Impact on the SDGs – Sectors: an exploration of the in pressure on all organisations from their many scope for key sectors to deploy digital technologies for stakeholders – not least investors, customers, employees impact on the SDGs; and regulators – to articulate and demonstrate how • Impact on the SDGs – Geography: reflections on the societal impact is at the core of what they do. The result most immediately relevant Goals for six major global is that a greater commitment to societal impact is not just regions; progress against these and the comparative about securing a license to operate, but a critical element impact of digital technologies; of building long-term success, with application to all organisations including business. • The ICT sector: the Catalyst for Sustainable Development: estimations on the current It also comes at a time when the ICT sector is viewed by scale and impact of the ICT sector, as well as many with distrust, often seen as the source of products projections to 2030; and and services that harm rather than heal our society and environment. Digital technologies can be leading • Actions to deliver a SMARTer2030: delineation contributors to positive societal value, but this will only of the critical roles for both the ICT sector and become a reality if the focus of technological development related stakeholders in developing and deploying and deployment is framed by a clear commitment to the digital technologies to maximise positive impact and SDGs. If the ICT sector can demonstrate to the world minimise negatives. that it is moving the dial on progress towards the 2030 Agenda, and assumes responsibility to address and prevent negative outcomes that result, the world will substantially benefit and the sector will be assured of long-term success. Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 Executive Summary 11
2 Approach This report explores the relationship between the modelling explores the expected contribution of digital development and deployment of digital technologies and technologies to progress against a selection of priority the achievement of the SDGs. It employs an explanatory targets, compared to a business-as-usual scenario in framework of ‘impact functions’ to categorise example which the adoption of digital technology is held constant. ‘use cases’ that illustrate this relationship across Further quantitative analysis explores the impact of the each of the 17 Goals. For each Goal, new quantitative ICT sector itself. GESI3 Digital technologies Seven digital technologies have been chosen as broadly representative of the way digital capability will evolve in the medium term and for their critical influence on the world. These technologies are:
1. Digital Access: connectivity for people to 2. Fast Internet: next generation connectivity, people, and people to the internet; personified by 5G, that provides speed and capacity at fundamentally different levels;
3. Cloud: the provision of highly scalable, 4. IoT (Internet of Things): the connecting advanced IT capabilities as 3rd party services; of physical objects to the internet enabling communication from, and to, the object;
5. Cognitive: the application of advanced 6. Digital Reality: virtual digital worlds or analytics, machine learning and artificial systems (virtual reality) or mixed virtual and intelligence approaches to big data to physical worlds (augmented reality); and develop insight;
7. Blockchain: a system of digital, distributed ledgers of transactions comprising a database of information, with an append-only structure, governed by a network of computers instead of a central party.
These technologies typically work together both in The seven technologies vary significantly in maturity: their development and deployment. AI for instance is digital access is both global and at scale, if not pervasive. crucial to the effective development and operation of the Blockchain is in its comparative infancy. Every one of networks that underpin the evolution of 5G; whilst scaled the technologies still has plenty of opportunity to scale deployment of AI by an organisation will often involve in terms of deployment, and therefore by extension, in cloud services. terms of impact. 12 Executive Summary Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030
Each of these technologies affects the world in multiple ways. To help navigate these effects, this report uses a new framework specifying ‘impact functions’ that link the technologies and their combinations with the way they impact the world. The four top level impact functions concern:
Connect & Communicate Monitor & Track Connecting people to each other and to The real-time, extensive observation of the critical information; world and its natural and man-made systems;
Analyse, Optimise & Predict Augment & Autonomate The development of insights from data, and the Provision of an ‘active bridge’ between use of those insights to drive process efficiency digital and physical, from simulation and infer the future; and through augmentation to the creation of GESIautonomous systems. These functions can lead to good and bad impacts. This rarely optimise internal coordination around the report uses the functions and the underlying technologies deployment of digital technologies, let alone externally, to explain the depth of the positive contribution they which falls short of the imperative of the SDGs for make, now and in the future, to the SDGs. coordination, cohesion, and integration. An approach that Whilst this contribution is profound and will be critical puts partnerships and collaboration at its core will be vital to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda going forward, to making tangible progress towards the 2030 Agenda. maximising potential will depend on a more collaborative, more integrated approach to deployment. Organisations
4 Impact on the SDGs This report details the many different ways in which digital There is, however, much more that needs to be done. technologies can impact the SDGs, focusing on 103 of Whilst the increased adoption of digital technologies the total 169 SDG targets which are not primarily reliant will help close the gap to some of the 2030 targets, on policy, aid financing, or non-digital interventions. performance of 8 out of 25 indicators analysed is still These targets have been reviewed for current progress expected to deteriorate. So to meet the Goals, the world and the four impact functions have been used as a needs to progress further and faster. Key actors within framework to establish links between each target and the ICT sector and partner sectors need to significantly the seven focus digital technologies, and to categorise shift the extent to which the 2030 Agenda is truly a how digital technology drives impact. In order to illustrate common focus in order for digital technologies to be these drivers, example use cases have been noted, truly transformative. There needs to be a fundamentally along with instances in which digital technologies can different, and systemic, understanding of the impact have a negative, rather than positive, impact. Illustrative of digital technology. By having a better understanding modelling has also been undertaken to demonstrate of both the positive and negative impacts of digital the potential impact of digital technologies on one or technologies, these sectors will be able to work together more SDG indicator. more effectively to accelerate the benefits and limit the This modelling of the expected increased adoption of downsides. The focus must be on both optimising the digital technologies assumes no significant changes to capabilities currently existing, and directing research technology, policy, or infrastructure, and shows a range and development at new capabilities on the basis of the of possible achievements against a business-as-usual impact they have. scenario. For example, an additional 150kg of cereal The SDGs are an integrated framework, which this could be produced per hectare for smallholder farms report presents here under the domains of Biosphere, globally through improved access to and use of data – an Society, and Economy.1 For each we summarise the main enhancement of just under 10%. opportunities that digital technologies can help deliver Analysis of 20 targets and 25 associated indicators and note any possible negative externalities. across a range of SDGs shows that the expected deployment of existing digital technologies will, on average, help accelerate progress by 22% and mitigate downward trends by 23%. Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 Executive Summary 13
Biosphere The biosphere, representing the planet we depend upon, Impact modelling for climate change suggests that the is covered across the topics of climate change and expected adoption of digital technology will lead to the natural resources: abatement of 668 Mt CO2e (accounting for rebound • Climate change focusses on SDG 13 (Climate Action), effects), equivalent to 1.3% of global emissions in 2030. and includes the need to reduce emissions, ensure This is the result of efficiency gains from the optimisation resilience to natural hazards, and enhance our of existing processes in agriculture, on roads, in energy ability to act; and networks, and in manufacturing. • Natural resources covers SDG 6 (Clean Water and Six impacts have been modelled for natural resources: Sanitation), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and SDG 15 agriculture and municipal water withdrawals, clean (Life On Land), and addresses the conservation of drinking water, sustainable fish stocks, the global forest these domains. area, and net emissions from forests. For example, impact analysis on water withdrawals shows that digital Digital technologies have a critical role to play in technologies can have a significant positive impact. protecting the biosphere and reversing negative progress Excess water withdrawals can lead to water stress or GESIagainst the four biosphere SDGs and their targets. The scarcity, where water supply does not meet demand, most relevant impacts are particularly concentrated and hence managing water use is important. This report within monitoring and tracking the state of the natural estimates that the expected increased deployment of world (SDGs 6, 14, 15), and analysing and optimising smart water infrastructure could mitigate around 22% energy and material usage across sectors to minimise of the estimated increase in global municipal water the impact of climate change (SDG 13). There will be withdrawals against a business-as-usual scenario. increasing opportunities in the future for emission savings under augment and autonomate, as the automation of Likely negative impacts on the biosphere resulting processes across agriculture, industry and manufacturing from widespread technological deployment include: an becomes increasingly sophisticated and automated, increase in emissions directly related to this deployment, helping in the fight against climate change. quantified below under the section on the ICT sector; the increased extraction of scarce resources; and the creation of e-waste, resulting from, for example, increased proliferation of IoT devices.
Digital technologies have a critical role to play in protecting the biosphere and reversing negative progress against the four biosphere SDGs and their targets. 14 Executive Summary Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030
Society Society, representing our ability to live together in an Eight impacts have been modelled out to 2030 across equitable and peaceful way, is covered across the topics the different areas covering sustainable and productive of basic human needs, amenities and utilities, and a fair agriculture, skilled birth attendance, youth literacy, access and just society: to electricity, renewable energy consumption, mean • Fulfilment of basic human needs spans SDG 1 (No levels of air pollutants (specifically the pollutant PM2.5), Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 3 (Good Health and and reproductive rights. For example, the proportion of Well-being), and SDG 4 (Quality Education); births attended by skilled health personnel is estimated to increase from 84% today to 92% under a scenario • Sustainable amenities and utilities addresses SDG 7 with increased deployment of digital technologies that (Affordable and Clean Energy), and SDG 11 (Sustainable improve communication between health professionals Cities and Communities); and and expectant mothers. Of this increase, 32% can be • A fair and just society covers SDG 5 (Gender Equality), attributed to digital technology. This indicator is important GESIand SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions). as it has been shown to have a strong relationship with Digital technologies, if carefully managed, have an rates of maternal mortality. important role to play in ensuring sustainable and Whilst the benefits from the development and deployment equitable societies. Three major opportunities have been of digital technologies are critical to addressing the identified: i) continuing to connect the unconnected and society-related SDGs, there are multiple possible negative vulnerable to basic digital access, to enable financial outcomes. These include: enhanced inequalities unless inclusion, education and empowerment; ii) taking access to technology is more even, reduced resilience of advantage of machine learning (ML) and artificial core society supporting systems unless cyber security intelligence (AI), as well as the computing power promised is invested in, and the spread of disinformation leading by cloud, to accelerate drug and crop development, and to misinformation unless appropriate weight is given to improve targeting of areas of poverty and hunger, disaster transparency and truth. impact, and education and health outcomes through the processing of complex datasets; and iii) autonomous machines to transform agriculture, and city utility, service, and security provision.
Economy The economy, the system through which we gather, and food loss in the supply chain. For example, the global produce and distribute resources, is covered across the deployment of Industry 4.0 has the potential to increase topics of inclusive growth and sustainable industry: gross value added from manufacturing, which will be • Inclusive growth comprises SDG 8 (Decent Work especially important to the development of emerging and Economic Growth), and SDG 10 (Reduced economies. This report estimates that with increased Inequalities); and digital technology in manufacturing, global manufacturing value add per capita could increase from around $1,800 • Sustainable industry comprises SDG 9 (Industry, currently to over $2,700 in 2030. Of this increase, 22% Innovation and Infrastructure), and SDG 12 can be attributed to Industry 4.0. (Responsible Consumption and Production). Negative externalities that should also be considered Digital technologies have a critical role to play in enabling include: a greater divide between developed and less inclusive growth and sustainable industry. Two major developed economies as the former get better access opportunities stand out: i) monitoring supply chains to digital technologies, an increase in consumption as accurately to create transparency in production; and wealth increases, job displacement as digital technologies ii) optimising processes to increase productivity while contribute to increased automation across sectors, and reducing energy and material usage and emissions. an increase in system-wide risk from centralised control Five impacts have been modelled to 2030 across SDGs 8, and cyber attack. 9, 10 and 12 covering financial inclusion, remittance costs, manufacturing value add, domestic material consumption, Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 Executive Summary 15
5 Impact on the SDGs – Sectors To realise the potential of digital technologies for the achievement of the SDGs, the ICT sector needs to collaborate on the basis of impact with the key sectors involved in GESIdelivering the 2030 Agenda.
Some SDG targets explicitly refer to individual sectors; • Government and Public Services: provision of unique with others the sectoral responsibility and opportunity identities for the c. 1 billion people without them is more implicit. The report lays out a set of priority (Targets 16.9, 1.3) through use of e.g. digital access, AI SDG targets and key actions for each partner sector and blockchain; to consider, reflecting the intersection of their core • Life Science and Health Care: ensure universal access business activity and the potential deployment of digital to sexual and reproductive healthcare services (Target technologies for impact. The list below provides one 3.7) through connectivity, remote access to patient example per sector, selected on the extent to which the records and AI-driven diagnosis; and responsibility lies with the sector: • Transport and Logistics: provide access to safe, • Agriculture and Fisheries: improved monitoring of farm accessible and sustainable transport (Target 11.2) and fishing activities (Target 14.4) with solutions using through access to mobility on demand type platforms. IoT, satellite imagery, AI, and digital access; • Consumer Products and Industrials: evolution of the circular economy (Targets 8.4, 9.4, 12.2, 12.5, 13.2) through enhanced transparency on provenance, material composition and the CO2 footprint of products and smart recycling systems; • Energy, Extractives and Utilities: increase in the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix (Targets 7.2, 7.3) facilitated by IoT/ AI-driven efficiency in plants and on the grid, and pay-as-you-go solar access; • Financial Services: encourage and expand access to banking, insurance and financial services for all (Target 8.10) through digital access and better informed and tailored products and services facilitated by big data and AI; 16 Executive Summary Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030
6 Impact on the SDGs – Geography A global response to the SDGs is vital for the 2030 Agenda to be realised, however the priorities for the deployment of digital technology against specific SDG GESItargets vary for each geographic region.
Profiling of the UN-defined major regions of the world • Oceania: Digital access will support an increase in has been undertaken to highlight the most immediately women’s access to family planning services (Target 5.6) relevant targets for each. Expected progress against and improvement in youth literacy (Target 4.6); these priority goals has been assessed with an exploration • Latin America and the Caribbean: IoT and cloud will of the comparative impact of digital technologies to enable a reduction in food loss in the supply chain achieve these priorities, as detailed in the list below: (Target 12.3), and AI and cloud will enable more • Africa: Digital access will support improvements sustainable management of forests (Target 15.2); in maternal mortality (Target 3.1) by increasing the • North America: Digital access, AI and IoT will support number of births attended by skilled healthcare more sustainable use of water resources (Target 6.4) professionals, and increase smallholder farm and improve energy efficiency (Target 7.3); productivity (Target 2.3); • Europe: IoT will help achieve greater sustainability and • Asia: Digital access, IoT and AI will help reduce air resource efficiency in industry (Targets 8.4, 9.4, 12.2) pollution (Target 11.6) from road transport, and enable and help develop more sustainable agriculture (Target more sustainable farming (Target 2.4), reducing the 2.4), reducing emissions from the sector. amount of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser used; Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 Executive Summary 17
7 The ICT sector: the Catalyst for Sustainable Development Whilst the deployment of digital technologies is the primary focus of this report, it is also important to consider the primary source of these technologies – the ICT sector itself. The ICT sector’s commitment and contribution to the SDGs can be construed in terms of its shape and size, emissions, and its management of externalities.
Shape and size The sector’s direct contribution amounted to an to R&D e.g. accounting for 20% of all business R&D estimated €3.7 trillion in GVA (gross value add) in 2019, in Japan; and in 2015 employed 48 million people, split around 80/20 between services and manufacturing. amounting to 1.5% of global employment. The sector also Services are distributed roughly in line with GDP, whilst drives an indirect economic contribution through the use manufacturing is concentrated in the US and a group of of products and services. GESIEast Asian economies. The sector is a major contributor Growth The sector has been growing and is expected to it could be an overestimate since the sector faces a continue to grow to around €6 trillion to 2030 – an rapidly increasing burden of constraints and demands increase of €2.3 trillion from 2019, with commensurate by regulators, consumers, and other key stakeholders growth in both R&D and employment. over concerns around its societal contribution slowing its There are significant risks to the accuracy of this rapid expansion. projection. It could be considered too conservative ICT sector growth is likely to be highly dependent on the since disruptive new technologies could result in the ability of the industry to manage, and verify, its emissions creation of major new digital business models that and other critical negative externalities, and crucially result in rapid economic activity shifts, such as moving demonstrate its social value and contribution to SDG entire subsectors into the ICT sector. Alternatively achievement in all key sectors to all key stakeholders. 18 Executive Summary Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030
Management of externalities According to analysis by Arabesque, the ICT sector sector and its manufacturing supply chain acting to performs better than the wider market on environmental arrest the rise in network energy consumption; and the and social issues, reflecting above-average commitment ICT sector in general working with its stakeholders to to relevant policies and procedures. In particular, the drive adoption of the various use cases that diminish sector performs well relative to the wider market in emissions to 100% take-up. In this scenario, the sector terms of its specific commitment to addressing climate GHG footprint would fall by 70 Mt CO2, instead of rising, change – with above-average commitment to meeting and ICT use cases would enable a further 3.5 Gt CO2e in the Paris Agreement to limit climate change to 1.5 ºC. emissions abatement. The overall ICT-enabled reduction However, despite this commitment, there is a need to in emissions would be nearly 3.6 Gt CO2e, which is consider the potential impact on the environment of the equivalent to 9% of projected world GHG emissions in the sector’s expected growth. The greenhouse gas impact relevant IEA scenario. of energy use by the ICT sector is estimated to be just Alongside emissions, the ICT sector must consider the over 800 Mt CO2 in 2019, rising to over 900 Mt CO2 in other potential negative externalities of its growth, which 2030 – an increase of 11%. This means that, on expected include increasing resource consumption, the furthering trajectories, the sector footprint is estimated to rise of inequalities, and anti-social impacts of consumption. from 1.6% of global GHG emissions in 2017 to 1.7% in Considerations surrounding resource consumption involve GESI2030. The increase is driven by the growth of the sector the initial mining of both abundant and rare materials, and an increase in the energy intensity of transmission and the impact of further activity across the value chain. networks, although this is partially offset by a reducing Growth of the sector has to date had an inflationary energy intensity in manufacturing and data centres, impact on resource consumption, although this could and differing rates of growth of clean energy by country. be offset by re-use, recycling, and behaviour changes Many large companies are announcing public plans to resulting in less demand for resources. Inequalities can curb their emissions, which may result in improvements be exacerbated both directly, e.g. through maintaining on this projection, as would a broader and more rapid an unbalanced gender mix in sector employment, and shift to clean energy. Risks include the continued rise indirectly, e.g. by creating greater divisions between of data volumes without corresponding efficiencies in those who have access to digital technologies and infrastructure, e.g. legacy networks often continue to be those that don’t. run in parallel with next gen implementations. Accounting Finally, digital technology could also provide a platform for the beneficial impact of the abatement in carbon for other negative social impacts, such as the adverse emissions delivered by the expected deployment of digital impacts on mental health caused by cyberbullying. The technology, the sector is expected to deliver emissions global understanding of context, cause, and effect is savings estimated to be seven times the growth in its own still evolving in these areas, but digital technologies can footprint between 2019 and 2030. undoubtedly be used to ill effect and have unintended The potential impact of action to reduce ICT emissions negative consequences. Cross-sector commitment and and enhance the ICT impact on emissions in the wider investment is needed to understand how such unintended economy can be illustrated by considering a scenario consequences can be avoided, alongside changes in for more ambitious decarbonisation. This scenario governance. These actions are crucial in order to ensure envisages action from policymakers to reduce energy the full potential of the ICT sector in driving progress to consumption; the energy sector decarbonising in line the 2030 Agenda. with more ambitious IEA scenarios; the telecoms Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 Executive Summary 19
8 Actions to Deliver a SMARTer2030 To maximise the potential of digital technologies and to diminish the downsides, there needs to be a common purpose both within the ICT sector and more widely GESIthroughout partner sectors. Across each of the Goals and through each of the four To maximise the potential of digital technologies and to impact functions, digital technologies can, and do already, diminish the downsides, there needs to be a common contribute by accelerating positive impacts and mitigating purpose both within the ICT sector and more widely negatives. However, as indicated by the forecast numbers throughout partner sectors. As such, to secure a positive weaved throughout this report, a significant challenge future – one that may be described as a ‘SMARTer2030’ remains. On current trajectories, even the expected – this report proposes a small number of universal increases in the adoption of digital technology will not be commitments, together with a set of commitments for the sufficient to support full realisation of the SDGs by the ICT sector and other related stakeholder groups. 2030 target date, especially in regard to the growing crisis To be clear, this is not a request for altruism. This is, associated with climate change. rather, a request to recognise the powerful challenges This report outlines the wide variety of ways in which the world faces. To recognise the way those challenges digital technologies can be deployed to support the are influencing the stakeholders who dictate the success achievement of the SDGs, detailed in the chapter on of the organisations they engage with. A request to Actions to Deliver a SMARTer2030. understand the need to place societal value at the core of the organisation to secure longer-term success, whatever the nature of your organisation.
Universal commitments The ICT sector and all stakeholders to recommit to Embrace the principles of impact transparency the common purpose of the SDGs; understand them; and collaboration. Invest in the measurement and promote them; use them as context to all activity management of intended impact called out in the and decision making. Supplement this with a specific organisational purpose, and communicate progress to all commitment to reduce GHGs by 50% by 2030.2 stakeholders. Share knowledge assets and collaborate Each actor to call out their own role in delivering the extensively to further impact. SDGs; explaining how this is embedded in the business Drive an enhanced, organisation-wide understanding model; how it drives success; and enshrining it as their of how digital technologies can be deployed for organisation’s purpose. positive impact, and influence development. Move from digital transformation to purpose-led transformation powered by digital. 20 Executive Summary Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030
ICT Sector specific commitments Lead on the universal commitments: as a large and them take responsibility for their impact and enable influential sector of the global economy, the ICT sector decision making for sustainable development. Indeed, has the opportunity to act as an exemplar; collectively understanding an increasingly connected system is supporting and actively pursuing the 2030 Agenda. a precondition to understanding what is needed to Operate responsibly: ICT companies have a responsibility drive impact. The ICT sector must help organisations to call out their commitment to the common purpose, and understand how to adopt impact transparency as a means be seen as the responsible sector, working together to of enhancing impact and strengthening business models. address common environmental, social and governance This requires new data, massive computing power, and (ESG) challenges in a comparatively progressive way new forms of distribution, deployment, and application. across all recognised dimensions. Urgently seek to decouple economic growth from Call out the areas of greatest risk and opportunity: environmental degradation: the sector will be at risk if with the help of its trade bodies, the sector should it cannot find ways to ensure that the energy required identify, understand, and call out the areas of greatest to manage increasing volumes of data transfer and risk and opportunity in terms of its contribution to the computing power does not further contribute to carbon SDGs, beyond operations and through core products emissions. Circular economy approaches must be taken and services. For example, the sector should call out forward to ensure that the proliferation of IoT devices GESIthe opportunity to eradicate the ‘digital divide’, and and smartphones does not lead to an exponential growth enable the drive towards net zero-carbon through digital in e-waste and depletion of natural resources. Only by technologies to enable greater growth and deployment of working together with a broad range of stakeholders and renewable energy sources. investing in better understanding the context, cause, and effects of impact, can the ICT sector ensure that Enable the development and deployment of digital its growth does not hinder, but instead ‘turbocharges’, technologies in countries without a mature ICT sector: sustainable development. it will be challenging to operate in countries that lack the infrastructure to support a transition to a sustainable, Lead on cyber security and cyber ethics, both digitally-enabled economy. To drive achievement towards individually and collectively: the greater adoption of the SDGs, ICT companies should work precompetitively to cognitive technologies and reliance of services on digital consider how technology can be deployed in partnership infrastructure is associated with increasing existential with governments in these countries and how the sector threats around cyber security and new ethical challenges. can engage with public policy to address identified critical ICT companies are frequently the first adopters of new sustainable development challenges. Underachieving technologies, and thus must ensure they implement against the central tenet of ‘leave no one behind’ is a exemplary cyber security safeguards into their business very real threat related to further entrenchment of a practices and services. Collectively, the ICT sector digital divide. has a critical role to play in working with government to develop cyber security and cyber ethics business Harness its unique role in enabling impact norms, standards, and codes of conduct, and lead the transparency: only digital technology can, at scale, way in demonstrating good practice. They have to take monitor and track how organisations impact the wider responsibility to ensure trust. world and gather the information required to help
Other stakeholder group commitments Critical stakeholder groups include Governments, NGOs, • Institutional Investors: demand evidence concerning Institutional Investors, Businesses and Partner sectors, commitment to the 2030 Agenda as well as and Citizens. Each group needs to embrace the Universal transparency of impact from investee companies. Commitments, and for each this report proposes some Utilise the capability of ICT sector to help evolve impact specific additional commitments, with the single most transparency together; important for each being: • Businesses and partner sectors: deploy digital • Governments: work with the ICT sector and other technologies with an understanding of their impact, and stakeholders to develop precompetitive approaches to recognise and help manage negative externalities; more equal access to the benefits of digital technology, • Citizens: become educated on the role of digital both inter- and intra-economy; technologies in the 2030 Agenda, take responsibility for • NGOs: hold stakeholder groups to account for their positive and negative impacts of personal usage and use use of digital technologies, and help form multi-sector power as a consumer to promote impact. partnerships with the ICT sector to drive impact; Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 Executive Summary 21
GeSI’s role GeSI exists to bring the ICT sector together to deliver against a vision of a sustainable world through responsible, ICT-enabled transformation. This means GESIworking across the industry and with key stakeholder groups to make Digital with Purpose a reality. This report has outlined the huge potential for digital • Understand and address negative externalities: GeSI technology to contribute to the SDGs, but also the will continue to work with its members to understand, in significant gap that still exists for the achievement of depth, the potential negative impacts of the increased the 2030 targets. adoption of digital technology and the necessary To that end, there are a series of next steps that GeSI mitigating actions that will enable the sector to realise a hopes to progress, with the support of its members on the radical ambition to drive the transformation needed to back of this report. realise the SDGs. • Make the case for the 2030 Agenda: GeSI will Digital with Purpose - Delivering the SMARTer2030 continue to call upon its members and all businesses Agenda: GeSI will continue to work with its members and to commit to the common purpose of the SDGs and broader civil society, to address the critical externalities, recognise the interdependence of a commitment to take forward the opportunities, and address the sustainable development and long-term success. challenges laid out in this report. • Enable inclusive digital transformation: GeSI will continue to work with its members and wider stakeholders to identify and plug gaps in the development and deployment of digital infrastructure to enable sustainable development for all and leave no one behind. 22 Case Studies Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 GESI Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 Case Studies 23
Case GESIStudies 24 Case Studies Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 CASE STUDY
Introduction AT&T is a media and telecommunications company, defined by four key elements: premium content, direct-to-consumer relationships, advertising marketplace, and high-speed networks. The Fortune 10 company’s mission is ‘to inspire human GESIprogress through the power of communication and entertainment’.1 AT&T has a well-developed approach to sustainability that is becoming increasingly important to its operations, its product and services, and the way it projects itself. Climate change is a particularly important theme within its broader sustainability agenda and in 2018 it was one of the largest corporate purchasers of renewable energy in the US.2
As part of its commitment to sustainable To unlock new potential for GHG reduction, AT&T development, AT&T has now set a 10x goal to enable expects further technology advancement in areas carbon savings of ten times the footprint of their such as 5G and IoT that will enable impact in operations by the end of 2025. In order to meet emissions-intensive industries, such as energy, this goal, the company is focusing on improving the manufacturing and transportation. efficiency of its network and providing technology AT&T has used IoT connectivity to enable more solutions to help AT&T customers reduce their own resource-efficient operations and to implement carbon footprint. AT&T has further collaborated and scale carbon-saving solutions across a broad with other companies to offer innovative, carbon- range of sectors:5 saving technologies that can have broad and • IoT-enabled building energy management meaningful impact across multiple SDGs, including systems: AT&T IoT connectivity improves visibility SDG 7 and SDG 13. of building equipment, allowing for preventative At the end of 2018, AT&T’s technology solutions maintenance and proactive responses to reduce enabled GHG reductions of over 17 million tonnes energy and carbon footprint. of CO2e whilst its carbon footprint was under eight • Smart irrigation: AT&T IoT connectivity enables million tonnes of CO2e, putting their 10x factor at a more efficient smart irrigation system which 2.2x.3 Encouraged by this progress, AT&T is confident could reduce water- and energy usage as well that they can meet their 10x goal by 2025, whilst as GHG emissions. recognising a number of key trends that will play an important role to help meet their target.4 To • Energy-efficient frozen food: AT&T IoT manage the GHG footprint of their operations, they connectivity is being used to optimise the have identified improving electricity efficiency in energy performance of cold storage facilities buildings and their network and investing in fuel- in order to reduce energy consumption and efficient vehicles as key focus points. AT&T also related GHG emissions. plans to further develop their recent renewable energy efforts; in 2018 they committed to delivering up to 820 megawatts of clean wind energy to the American power grid and will continue to invest in more large-scale renewable energy projects in the future. GESI
CASE STUDY Digital withPurpose: Delivering aSMARTer2030 produces impact. produces that in asolution delivering critical been has Emerson AT&T 7, between 2, Collaboration 13. 12 and 11, and ofSDGs targets the to that contributes a solution offer to Grind2Energy into Emerson’s technology ofAT&T elements core several implemented has Source: WRI's Climate Data Explorer (4) Explorer Data Climate WRI's Source: (year 2011) vs. Food wastage Food vs. 2011) (year Top countries of Forestry and 20 Change, Land-Use Total Use, excluding emissions Land GHGs year, every wasted or lost offood tonnes billion 1.3 than more With China. and US the for except by single any country emitted GHG is more year, per billion which ofCO2 tonnes 4.4 is around waste offood footprint carbon total that the reports (FAO) Organisation &Agriculture Food UN The Use –Grind2Energy case Gtonnes GtCO2 eq 10 12 8 6 4 2
China
USA
Food wastage
India
Russia
Japan 7
Brazil AT&T 6
Germany
Indonesia
Mexico easy to manage and take meaningful action. meaningful take and manage to easy it making data in real-time adashboard by presenting pick-up their waste optimise to process customers enables also It sources. energy low-carbon producing instead in landfills, waste food with associated eliminate and generation system emissions GHG ofthis waste-to-energy performance the optimise fertiliser. and AT&T heat or to helps connectivity into electricity restaurants and stores grocery from waste food converts grinder food industrial Emerson’s Canada
Iran
South Korea
Australia
United Kingdom country, it would the be If food wastage were a wastage If food third emitting largest Saudi Arabia in world. the country
Italy
France
South Africa
Turkey Case Studies Ukraine 25 26 Case Studies Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030
SDG Benefits In particular, the increased visibility associated with IoT optimises the system performance in the AT&T’s solution has had a positive contribution to following ways: several of the SDGs.8 • Maintenance: remote monitor systems with SDG 7: Affordable and Clean energy built-in alerts allow information to be shared on
CASE STUDY In one year, an estimated 6,700 tonnes of food equipment which isn’t working properly or is broken, waste have been diverted from landfills, generating helping to prevent the pile up of waste and reducing 1.3 million kWh of clean electricity, which would be the need for technician trips which can create enough electricity to power 125 homes for a year. more emissions. SDG 13: Climate Change • As-needed hauling: the frequency of pick-ups can GHG emissions from the landfill were reduced by an be optimised by the capacity to monitor tank level estimated 5,000 tonnes of CO2e, which is the same and volume data in real time, reducing the emissions as not consuming 570,000 gallons of gasoline. This associated with truck transportation of waste. translates as 84 tonnes CO2e abated per site. • Getting the mix right: the system is able to track the flow rate and velocity of the slurry and adjust SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities the water if needed to ensure optimal consistency GESIThis solution helps to reduce the environmental for the anaerobic digesters to work efficiently. footprint of cities with a focus on reducing urban waste. With the implementation of this technology User stories in restaurants, grocery stores and stadiums, the The Grind2Energy system, enabled by AT&T IoT resource efficiency of buildings can be improved technology, is being used by US universities. The which can go hand in hand with another of AT&T’s University of Notre Dame, Indiana,9 for example, has technologies – the IoT-enabled Building Energy incorporated Grind2Energy at its Centre of Culinary Management System. Excellence (CCE), as well as in its two dining halls, capturing up to 99% of food waste from the CCE and Other impacts reducing campus-wide waste by 10%, equivalent to 10 This solution also contributes to SDG 2, Zero Hunger, over 300 tonnes of waste annually. This translates by ensuring a sustainable food production system that to saving nearly 40 tonnes of emissions annually. minimises food loss. Leveraging this technology can The system at the CCE was installed in January 2019 also reduce pollution and waste generation which can and in the dining halls in May 2019. By mid-2019 over help to ‘halve per capita global food waste at the retail 50 tonnes of food waste had already been diverted and consumer levels’, a specific target of SDG 12. from these locations while creating over 10,000 kWh of electricity. This electricity generation and emissions Design reduction is equivalent to powering 12 homes for one The process begins with industrial strength food month or 95,000 fewer vehicle miles driven. waste grinders that are able to process the food into Grind2Energy is currently utilised in back-of-house a liquid nutrient-rich slurry, pumping it into holding operations. However, the University hopes to expand tanks that are then transported to waste management use of the system further across the campus. facilities. At this stage, the methane-generating waste is converted into biogas, a source of sustainable Scaling energy and fertiliser by anaerobic digesters. Emerson introduced Grind2Energy in 2012 and The system utilises 16 industrial IoT sensors that give started to collaborate with AT&T in 2016 to improve customers near real-time visibility to monitor and efficiency and scale its operations. Grind2Energy track key performance indicators of their food waste is now installed at grocery stores, restaurants and management system. For example, these sensors stadiums across the US, and AT&T has also recently trigger alerts if the equipment is not functioning installed this technology-enabled solution at their properly and when the tank is nearly full so that a campus in El Segundo, California, to improve their own truck can be dispatched for pickup. By incorporating operations. AT&T is now working to increase adoption, IoT connectivity, more real-time data can be measured by further implementing IoT technology to reduce and therefore greater improvements can be made. Grind2Energy’s operational costs in order to make the system more price-competitive. By increasing the application and usage of the Grind2Energy solution in the marketplace, AT&T can play an important role in helping customers to improve the sustainability of their actions. Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 Case Studies 27 GESICASE STUDY
“ Before we had the IoT, Wrap Up we physically had to send With increased awareness of the need for sustainable development and given that the average somebody out to tables in the price of transportation to landfills has increased markets, open up the control almost 17% from 2010-201711 and is expected to panel, pull the data down. rise further,12 there is great potential for widespread usage of this technology in the marketplace to Everything was manual. Now, generate carbon savings and have real, meaningful we can see how the systems impact on the SDGs. are performing and track the This initiative, enabled by IoT, has had a clear contribution to the 10x goal and more widely to the data so much more easily.” SDGs having generated 1.3 million kWh of clean — Doug Brokaw, director of sales, Grind2Energy electricity and producing a carbon abatement factor of 84 tonnes CO2e per site.
“ Making a difference in the communities where we live and work is a core value for AT&T. That’s why we are at the forefront of using innovative technologies – from IoT and 5G to the Grind2Energy solution and beyond – to help transform the lives of people around the world and protect our planet.” – Lori Lee, CEO AT&T Latin America and Global Marketing Officer 28 Case Studies Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 CASE STUDY
Introduction Deutsche Telekom, present in more than 50 The company’s network infrastructure offers the countries, is one of the world's leading integrated technological foundation for innovational solutions telecommunications companies, with 178 million to social and environmental challenges, and thus it mobile customers, 28 million fixed-network lines, and makes the biggest contribution to SDG 9: Industry, 20 million broadband lines. The company provides Infrastructure and Innovation. However, many of its fixed-network/broadband, mobile communications, other products and services contribute to additional internet, and IPTV products and services for SDGs, including: GESIconsumers. Deutsche Telekom also offers T-Systems, • E-health services that help improve present in more than 20 countries, which provides medical care (SDG 3); integrated ICT solutions for business and corporate • Broadband expansion that gives many people customers. T-Systems solutions include the secure access to digital educational media (SDG 4); operation of legacy systems, transformation to cloud-based services and innovation projects • Cloud solutions that reduce energy consumption in areas such as data analytics, the Internet of and emissions (SDG 12 and 13); Things, machine-to-machine communication and • Smart home solutions that reduce energy Industrial Internet. consumption in the home (SDG 7 and 13); Deutsche Telekom is committed to operating in a • And, a range of Smart City solutions that reduce socially and environmentally responsible way, with traffic, optimise street lighting and increase security a focus on CO2 emissions reduction, the circular in cities (SDG 11). One of these solutions, Park and economy, and expansion of broadband access. It Joy, is already having a demonstrable impact on also offers products and services that support a traffic, congestion and emissions reduction within sustainable lifestyle and contribute to the SDGs. cities in Germany.
Park and Joy Cities around the world are suffering from the effects of rising air pollution and carbon emissions. In cities, transport is often the main source of air pollution and emissions,1 and traffic pollution problems are worsening world-wide, due to an increased number of cars on the road and limited ability to manage urban traffic flow and congestion.2 Around 30% of urban traffic is caused by drivers searching for parking spaces, with drivers taking an average of 20 minutes to find a space – causing an additional CO2 output of 1.3 kg per search.3 Deutsche Telekom developed its mobile application, provide drivers with accurate, real-time information Park and Joy, to overcome the issue of urban traffic on available spaces, as well as optimised routing congestion caused by drivers searching for parking towards their chosen space. Park and Joy saves a spaces. Park and Joy is a digital parking service that large amount of time spent finding and driving towards provides drivers with a seamless, end-to-end parking parking spaces, and reduces urban congestion, air experience, allowing users to easily and conveniently pollution and emissions. Park and Joy was piloted in find, park and pay for their parking space – all in 2 the German city of Hamburg, and is now being rolled clicks. Park and Joy uses a combination of mobile out to over 80 cities across Germany. data analytics and data from in-road IoT sensors to GESI
CASE STUDY Digital withPurpose: Delivering aSMARTer2030 parking spots. Again, taking into account the carbon carbon the into account taking Again, spots. parking 160,000 holding around together and 100,000 ofover apopulation with in Germany, cities each 80 data for above the extrapolated researchers The climate on change. action urgent take to 13: SDG impacts positively also it atmosphere, into the emissions released gas greenhouse ofharmful amount the reduces Joy and Park Since Climate Action 13: SDG pollution. air urban reducing again idling spaces, inofparking wait and searching by cars caused congestion and jams traffic prevent helps also Joy and Park of up 63%. to emissions NOx and in CO2 areduction to equivalent procedure, parking per ofNOx 231mg and of CO2 up 240g to saves Joy and that Park found also they kilometre, emissions per car well as as life cycle, and installation production, sensor and ofserver footprint Taking carbon the metres. into account of 875 –areduction metres 521 to metres of 1,396 average search distance travelled per car reduced from an Joy, and parking Park that with found They trial. on was app the Germany, where in pollution air Hamburg, and traffic urban on impact Joy’s and Park on study ayear-long conducted researchers Frauenhof based all.” for systems transport sustainable and accessible affordable, safe, to access provide 2030, “By 11.2 Target quality…” air to and attention by paying special including ofcities, impact environmental capita per adverse the reduce 2030, Target “By 11.6: particularly 11, SDG to relates impact primary its areas, urban for service parking is Joy adigital and Park As Communities and Cities Sustainable 11: SDG Climate 13: SDG Action. and Communities and Cities Sustainable 11: SDG primarily of SDGs, anumber to contributes positively Joy and Park SDG Benefits (Depending on market penetration) year &Joy per Park through Savings CO2 market penetration. at 0.1% only emissions footprint its amortised already has infrastructure and service, ofthe users of number the with scales strongly Joy and Park with achieved be potentially that can year. reduction The per ofNOx tonnes 81 and ofCO2 tonnes 84,000 to ofup emissions savings potential an calculated they penetration, market of100% assumption the under and kilometre, emissions per car and life cycle, and installation production, sensor and ofserver footprint (Kg CO2e per year) millions per CO2e (Kg -1.0 1.0 4.0 6.0 2.0 5.0 3.0 7.0 0 -16.9 0% 25% 1.4 2.9 50% 4.4 75% 100% 5.9 Case Studies 29 30 Case Studies Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 GESICASE STUDY
Other impacts A reduction in urban air pollution also contributes to parking space availability with up to 80% accuracy. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being, as air pollution However, 80% - despite being better than the pre is associated with a number of health impacts, Park and Joy average of 30% - was not good enough. including lung cancer, stroke, heart disease and If a Park and Joy customer experienced a wrong result chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.4 Park and that often, they could quickly stop using the app. Joy contributes specifically to Target 3.9 “By 2030, In order to increase accuracy, Deutsche Telekom substantially reduce the number of deaths and installed in-road IoT sensors able to detect if a parking illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water space was occupied or not. Due to the amount of data and soil pollution and contamination.” Park and Joy already available, the company only needed to install also contributes to the ethos of SDG 12: Responsible a few sensors per street, not on all parking spots, in Consumption and Production, through encouraging order to get a more accurate and real-time picture of resource-use efficiency. Since Park and Joy promotes parking space availability. The IoT sensors increase well-managed parking processes and allows local the accuracy of parking spot availability predictions to government agencies to increase their revenue from 94-96%. Most sensors only send information on if the parking charges, the app also contributes to SDG 16: space is occupied or not, in order to maximise sensor Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. battery longevity and reduce e-waste. However, in special cases (like handicapped parking) the sensors How it works can also detect if the parking space user actually has In designing Park and Joy, Deutsche Telekom first handicap privileges. In addition to the data analytics considered the customer voice. When Deutsche and IoT sensors, Deutsche Telekom uses an AI-driven Telekom asked customers what they would value model to identify unusual occurrences in the city that the most from a digital parking services app, the are affecting parking space availability. two top priorities were a prediction of public parking The combination of data analytics and IoT sensors availability and a real-time view of parking spaces makes it possible for Park and Joy app users to currently available. So, Deutsche Telekom embarked perform a targeted parking space search in an area of on designing Park and Joy in order to do just that: to their choice, quickly find a suitable free parking space, provide accurate, real-time information on parking and navigate towards it. Park and Joy users can also space availability, and enable users to find, park and use the app to easily pay for parking, and to remotely pay for a space of their choice at an affordable price. top up length of park and payment.5 Deutsche Deutsche Telekom designed and trialled Park and Joy Telekom and T-Systems have been able to provide in the German city of Hamburg. Available geospatial the entire solution – consisting of the Park and Joy data was first examined, e.g. data from Google Earth app, infrastructure, platform, connectivity and rollout. and data on the movement of mobile phone users. The high computing power, which can be scaled even From these datasets, the app was able to predict further, comes from a high-security cloud.6 Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 Case Studies 31
User stories Scaling A number of German cities have now Park and Joy is currently aimed at individual consumers. However, Deutsche Telekom has rolled out Park and Joy, and some plans to move into preparing dashboards for city opinions of the app include: administrators so they can have a real-time traffic
CASE STUDY map of their cities, in order to improve traffic control Cottbus – formerly focussed around coal mining, is and give cities an idea of where they could reduce beginning to restructure into a modern day city. parking spots or convert unneeded parking spots “For the city Cottbus, Park and Joy is an essential into bike parking. The ultimate goal for Deutsche project to digitalise the infrastructure, which makes Telekom is intermodality – the inclusion of public and our city more attractive to residents and visitors. At different types of transport (i.e. bikes) in the same the same time, a high amount of emissions caused by service, to reduce overall use of and need for cars in parking search traffic can be prevented.” the first place. - Mr. Holger Kelch, The Mayor of Cottbus Park and Joy already has thousands of users in Hamburg, and is continuing to scale in Hamburg itself, Dortmund – wants to be a leading smart city, with a with Deutsche Telekom aiming to install an additional focus on open data collection to enable mobility. 1,000 sensors across the city and integrate public GESI7 "Our cities are becoming more navigable, with less transport information into the app. Park and Joy is emissions and more connectivity between modes also being rolled out to over 80 additional cities in of transport. Above all, our goal is to make our cities Germany. Outside of Germany, Deutsche Telekom has more liveable for people. Digital technology can help emerging partnerships with its first city in Europe, us with that. For example, smart parking solutions but its vision is much bigger. The company believes based on available data and intelligent algorithms that it can help cities around the world to better reduce traffic, improve transparency for citizens and understand parking, not just by rolling out the Park not only improve the efficiency of parking, but bring a and Joy app, but by sharing the AI models that have creative solution into daily life." been built around it. Deutsche Telekom wants to - Dr. Jan Fritz Rettberg, Chief Innovation Officer, leverage its work to help other cities improve their own City of Dortmund data models. By improving everyone’s data models, it will be able to achieve maximum impact on ‘parking Tübingen – a green party leads Tübingen city prognosis’, mobility, and the environment. council, and therefore the city has a large focus on Deutsche Telekom also expects to scale its impact reducing the city’s environmental impact. through partnerships with car manufacturers, in “Traffic caused by searching for a parking place is order to be able to capture data from parking sensors a major disruptive factor in inner cities. If it were directly into the on-board dashboards of cars. The possible to avoid the resulting detours, it would be an company is also looking to combine its sources of improvement in quality of life for all and a benefit to data with data from the cars to build new models the environment. In Tübingen, we therefore want to of parking availability. The company expects that provide real-time information about free and occupied this can be done even without installing IoT sensors parking spaces in the centre, through solutions such in city streets. as Park and Joy.” - Mr. Boris Palmer, Mayor of Tübingen Looking forward Moers Deutsche Telekom is open to discussing its models "The city of Moers wants to analyse the parking with all cities and believes it can help in all situations. situation more intelligently. Only with this analysis, we The company ideally wants to work worldwide in order succeed in avoiding unnecessary emissions through to achieve a global positive impact. The company sees parking search traffic. For us, this is also an important Park and Joy as the ‘proof-point’ that systems such contribution to reducing the environmental impact as this can have a big effect, and so is open to sharing and relieving the burden on our road network. And its knowledge with any cities, mayors, town planners, of course, an intelligent parking system protects the traffic and street management officials and Chief nerves of motorists. " Digital Officers who are interested. - Christoph Fleischhauer, Mayor of Moers 32 Case Studies Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 CASE STUDY
Introduction EIT Climate-KIC is a knowledge and innovation community, supported by the European Union and established in 2010.1 It brings together diverse actors including cities, NGOs, think tanks, researchers, educators, entrepreneurs, and GESIinnovators to catalyse the system transformation needed to achieve a prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable climate-resilient society through innovation.2 The convening power of EIT Climate-KIC means partners across business, academia, cities and non-profits can join together to create networks of expertise, researching and innovating together.3 Over 400 formal organisational partners across 25 countries are involved, making it Europe’s largest public-private organisation with the purpose of catalysing systemic change in areas of human activity that have a critical impact on GHG emissions and resilience, e.g. cities, land use, materials and finance.4 EIT Climate-KIC has almost a decade of successful are discrete, but assessed in terms of their individual climate innovation experience illustrated by a range contribution to EIT Climate-KIC’s missions, and of education programmes that empower participants their synergies with other activities in the portfolio with knowledge and best practice. EIT Climate-KIC to drive wider change. Innovation experiments are also runs a successful accelerator programme triggered in response to the identification of problems supporting entrepreneurs to transform their ideas by cities, industry, investors, governments, or citizens. into climate-positive businesses.5 So far, over 1,400 EIT Climate-KIC is then able to connect the demand climate-positive companies have been incubated, for solutions with a supply of innovative ideas through raising over €930 million in external investment, and providing the funding and support required to scale. 6 creating over 2,000 full time jobs. Additionally, EIT One example of the EIT Climate-KIC innovation Climate-KIC has leveraged €3.4 billion of private approach is described alongside, demonstrating finance for its full range of innovation activities in the powerful impact digital technologies can policy, education, urban transformation, materials, have on achieving the 2030 Agenda. WINnERs finance, agriculture and forestry. is an established example of how digital access EIT Climate-KIC takes a system innovation approach enables new business models. It improves the to incubation, to make integrated, co-ordinated resilience of agriculture practice by incentivising interventions in economic, political and social systems small-scale farmers in Africa to change their along whole value chains. The innovation experiments traditional farming patterns. Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 Case Studies 33 GESICASE STUDY WINnERs WINnERs (Weather Index based Risk Services) offers risk management services to create sustainable supply chains from the smallholder to the global retailer in food production and supply chain operations. The project models weather and climate risk exposure through state-of-the-art technology, investing in smallholder farmers to improve farming practices and creditworthiness, sharing risk across supply chain actors with weather and climate index-based insurance services, and promoting supportive regulatory environments for insurance products in developing countries.
Smallholder farmers typically have been unable between farmers, traders and end-buyers, rather than to create long-term deals with buyers, as they the traditional model of farmers being linked only to cannot guarantee crop yield year-on-year. This is traders. International buyers are the ultimate policy due to factors such as weather disruption, poor holders, instead of individual smallholders, which environmental conditions and a lack of capital to can reduce farmers’ risk and expand reach. Offering purchase fertilisers and pesticides to improve the insurance to connect these previously unconnected likelihood of a successful crop. Farmers are often parties increases trade and improves the efficiency unable to access finance to break out of this cycle. of the global agricultural market. The new business At the farm level, the likelihood of an extreme model therefore improves the resilience of the weather event and its severity can be predicted entire value chain. across areas as small as 5km2. This information is EIT Climate-KIC contributed to WINnERs through then integrated into agricultural insurance contracts funding and incubation support, helping with that share risk between the various actors of a prototype finalisation, product implantation, and particular supply chain. impact studies. The scheme was first rolled out in 7 The project also focuses on improving the well-being 2016 in Tanzania where insurance has reached of smallholder farmers who often bear the brunt of the 25,000 farmers, and has since expanded to other 8 risk when it comes to farming. WINnERS partnered countries including Zimbabwe, Uganda and Ghana. with the WFP Farm to Market Alliance to offer its The programme has been so successful that the services, improved inputs, training, finance and United Nations World Food Programme has been able guaranteed market access, to participating farmers’ to buy at least $120 million agricultural product each 9 organisations. Insurance contracts are established year from smallholder farmers. 34 Case Studies Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030
SDG Benefits Although WINnERs delivers systemic transformation SDG 1: No Poverty in the agriculture sector (SDG 2), the solution has WINnERs will help reduce extreme poverty through positive contributions to several other SDGs, given provision of a more stable income, acting as a that some of the world’s most abject poverty is social protection system, and ensuring access to
CASE STUDY 10 concentrated in farming communities. the basic financial services required to improving SDG 2: Zero Hunger economic standing. By guaranteeing an income for farming SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth communities, WINnERs will help end hunger and Imperial College London estimates the project will ensure access to sufficient food throughout the contribute 2% to Tanzanian GDP through increasing year for those in vulnerable situations, reducing maize production, and across sub-Saharan Africa the malnutrition and ensuring the sustainability of food impact on maize yield is projected to improve GDP by production systems. 2.6%, equating to an approximate economic benefit of GESI$62.9 billion.11 Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 Case Studies 35 GESICASE STUDY
How it works The key underlying innovation in the WINnERS project relationships. The contracts trigger individual is the creation of a weather index-based risk service relationships amongst buyers and single farms, which offers insurance to farmers and global food which means the risk of crop loss is then shared13 buyers against weather and climate-driven risks. • Impact assessments. Researchers seek to measure There are multiple elements leading to the the impact of the WINnERS projects on the well- index-based risk service in the WINnERs being of participating small holder farmers14 programme that include: • New insurance frameworks. Researchers ensure • Specialist tools, e.g. machine learning, are used insurance frameworks are contracted, regulated to collect and analyse climate data to predict the and supervised. likelihood of extreme weather events occurring in small geographic areas up to 5km2 Scaling • Crop modelling simulations translate weather WINnERs is planning rapid expansion. In 2019, the data into agricultural risks, such as drought and project secured over €1.5 million in funding from the crop yield loss12 Climate Resilience Fund and the African Development 15 • Agricultural risk data is used to build insurance Bank. The fund will go towards improving the contracts to ensure weather and climate risks are financial inclusion of women in Tanzania, and to fairly distributed across the supply chain, to outline expanding the geographical reach of WINnERS. By incentives to actors for establishing long-term 2022, the programme aims to roll out schemes across an additional 10 African countries.
WINnERs has had a direct positive impact on thousands of farming households across Sub-Saharan Africa16: “ I think all crops should be backed by this kind of insurance because it is a game changer. Farmers will be sure of borrowing each year” - Alex Mubiru, Country Manager Tanzania, African Development Bank.
Source – The Citizen, 30 July 2019, Dar Es Salam 36 Case Studies Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 CASE STUDY
Introduction T-Mobile is a mobile telecommunications company, providing wireless voice and data services. The firm is redefining the way consumers and businesses buy wireless services through leading product and service innovation. Through GESIits Un-carrier campaign, T-Mobile has laid out a strategy focused on customer experience, a culture that values diversity and inclusion, and a responsibility for communities and the environment. The company is leading the rollout of 5G networks throughout the US by building its network and expanding its coverage year on year. T-Mobile is committed to making sustainability a According to Chad Wilkerson, Director of fundamental part of its strategy, culture and activities, Sustainability & Infrastructure Sourcing at T-Mobile, and has committed to use 100% renewable energy T-Mobile’s focus on sustainability is not solely “on for all its operations by 2021. This commitment buying green energy, but [on] taking a whole-systems is the driving force behind the company reaching approach to sustainability”.1 an ambitious carbon emission reduction target, alongside implementing energy-efficiency savings in facilities and networks. GESI
CASE STUDY Digital withPurpose: Delivering aSMARTer2030 of total energy needs by its goal year of 2021. of2021. year goal by its needs energy of total 41% aprojected for accounting capacity, energy green ofnew 320MW added in Kansas, similar wind farm a with combined and in Oklahoma, project wind farm a through tons metric emissions by 300,000 over T-Mobile In 2019, reduced (PPA) structure. financial agreement purchasing apower through projects solar wind and ofseveral mix energy an with program, energy renewable its to approach portfolio isaim its this to Central operations. ofits footprint carbon T-Mobile the reduce ofinitiatives a number to has Renewablei. energy facilities. and practices employee (iv) and reduction waste sustainable and recycling operations and (iii) (ii)device networks efficient (i) energy, renewable areas: in broad four manifested has sustainability to asystems-approach through footprint minimising and ecological its usage energy renewable 100% to commitment company’s The 100% renewable disclosing energy by 2021, its progress annually. from renewable sources by aspecified year. T-Mobile has now committed to using commit to apublic goal of sourcing 100% of their global electricity consumption demand for, and delivery of, renewable energy. Organisations joining RE100 uniting more than 100 influential businesses working to massively increase telecommunications company to join acollaborative, RE100, global initiative of their part As commitment to sustainability, in T-Mobile 2018 became the first 2021 for strategy Sustainability 900MW of renewable energy capacity. energy ofrenewable 900MW annually, utilising energy over ofrenewable GWh T-Mobile 3,000 over use to 2021, plans By electricity. hydro- consuming 100% are Washington Wenatchee, in data centres whilst its energy, renewable 100% with Washington headquarters Bellevue, its is powering program”, Direct “Green Energy Additionally, T-Mobile Sound Puget the through Texas Virginia. to 15MW-250MW, from from that range projects solar T-Mobile range, on 150MW worked since the has in country ofthe in centre the based wind projects with started While company the locations. size and project its diversified also has It structure. financial PPA the through projects solar several mix energy its to added has it projects wind farm large two the In to addition programme. energy renewable its to approach aportfolio pursued also has company The by ENGIE US Wind US ENGIE by operated and KS Colby in located Forks, Solomon farm, T-Mobile’s wind second 2
Case Studies 37 38 Case Studies Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 GESICASE STUDY
ii. Efficient networks and operations are recycled, 35,284 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of To reduce its carbon footprint further, T-Mobile silver, 75 pounds of gold and 33 pounds of palladium undertook in-depth research and built capabilities are recovered which can be used again in new devices, to boost energy efficiency and reduce energy preventing over-extraction. usage across the entire business, prioritising the Beyond recycling consumer phones, T-Mobile reduces optimisation of its network’s operations. Even material waste in its own operations. Over 86% of its though data flowing through T-Mobile’s network has customers are billed online, saving natural resources increased by over 49 times in the last six years, using by decreasing paper use. T-Mobile is also minimising energy-efficient technologies has allowed its energy its environmental footprint by recycling or composting intensity to decline by 97%. waste produced by its headquarters, annually Efficiency gains in cell towers have been made downsizing on printers, and eliminating paper cup use primarily through improvements in heating and from many of its customer care centres. cooling. By implementing new methods of efficiently iv. Sustainable employee practices and facilities controlling the on-site temperature of cell towers, T-Mobile is committed to ensuring its sustainable T-Mobile is reducing the amount of propane, diesel internal practices extend to its workforce. It and electricity needed for power. Other innovations encourages carpooling and energy-efficient in lighting controls, power factor improvements commuting by providing location-specific benefits and on-site solar technology are continuously being to its employees. T-Mobile also offsets the carbon developed to improve the performance and reliability impact of its air travel, by working on a reforestation of cellular equipment. project that supports reforestation in Haiti and iii. Device recycling and waste reduction Madagascar – an effort that has resulted in more T-Mobile delivers substantial positive ecological than 1.2 million trees planted to date. T-Mobile has impact by incorporating sustainability into the also collaborated with the Nature Conservancy for management of the electronic devices of its the #TreeMobile campaign, which donated enough to customers. Of the 3.9 million used devices and plant more than 300,000 trees in locations in North 3 accessories collected by T-Mobile in 2018, T-Mobile America, Latin America and Asia. reused or resold 96% of the hardware. The remaining Finally, T-Mobile is showcasing its commitment to 4% is responsibly recycled by its partners. As a sustainability at its corporate headquarters where result of this effort, over 14 million customer devices it has achieved LEED Certification from the U.S. have been reused or resold since the programme's Green Building Council on one of its buildings and it is inception in 2008. For every one million devices that pursuing a certification for a second building. Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 Case Studies 39
SDG Benefits T-Mobile’s sustainability strategy has direct positive impacts on the 2030 Agenda: CASE STUDY SDG 3: Good health and well-being SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption Using less diesel and other non-renewable energy Reusing precious metals in old phones prevents the sources in radio cell towers emits fewer pollutants unnecessary extraction of additional resources, and into the air, reducing respiratory infections and the emission of GHGs. Additionally selling over three contributing towards SDG 3. million used devices annually, reducing thousands of tonnes of waste through recycling and composting SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy and eliminating unnecessary plastic in packaging are T-Mobile directly supports SDG 7 with its transition to examples of responsible production and consumption, 100% renewable energy usage, for example by signing contributing to the goal of a circular economy and long-term PPAs to power its facilities and operations supporting SDG 12. with a portfolio of green energy including wind, GESIsolar, and hydroelectricity and increasing the energy SDG 13: Climate action efficiency of its business operations. By transitioning to 100% renewable energy, T-Mobile directly answers the call of SDG 13. SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities With device recycling in all stores, a number of LEED Certified buildings, lowered emissions and pollutants from cell towers and a long-term PPA with local Puget Sound Energy Green Direct energy deal to power its headquarters, T-Mobile is doing its part to create more sustainable cities in all the locations where it operates.
T-Mobile is committed to making sustainability a fundamental part of its strategy, culture and activities, and has committed to use 100% renewable energy for all its operations by 2021. 40 Case Studies Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 CASE STUDY
Introduction Verizon is a US provider of innovative communications and technology solutions that improves consumers’ lives and ways of working. Through these solutions, Verizon aims to deliver its promise to “make the world better than yesterday”. The company was the first in the world to launch a commercial 5G mobile network, GESIalongside a commercially available 5G-enabled smartphone, in April 2019.1 Verizon sees digital solutions as enablers for the • Intelligent Lighting: Verizon Intelligent Lighting is achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals a networked lighting control system that enables (SDGs), and in 2018 set particular aspirations to help remote control, monitoring and diagnostics for progress SDG 4: Quality Education, SDG 8: Decent street and area lighting. The implementation of Work and Economic Growth, and SDG 13: Climate intelligent lighting reduces energy consumption Action.2 It has made ambitious pledges towards (SDG 7) and therefore reduces the carbon footprint addressing its carbon footprint – committing to go of cities (SDG 13). It can also increase safety in carbon neutral in its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions areas of particular risk. Using the system, pilot cities by 2035.3 Verizon’s efforts were recognised when have saved up to 20% of energy on street lighting. it was named one of the top 100 most sustainable • Intersection Safety Analytics: an integrated 4 companies in the US. managed solution to detect interactions among As the world’s population becomes increasingly motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists by collecting, urbanised, with over 70% of the population estimated processing, analysing and correlating behavioural to be living in cities by 2050,5 cities must harness analytics data. It has improved road safety (SDG 3) digital technologies to protect and provide for in cities that have implemented it. residents and to help manage their environmental • Intelligent Traffic Management: IoT sensors impact. Verizon has developed a set of Verizon in roads gather real-time data to reduce traffic, Connect and Smart City Solutions to enable commute times and emissions (SDG 13). communities to stay connected and safe; key aims • Real-Time Response System: a solution designed of SDG 11. The solutions centre on the collection to improve public safety in urban areas. This is and analysis of data, providing stakeholders with explored in detail below. increased knowledge of their communities, their vehicles, and a better ability to respond to their needs.6 Some current examples include: • Fleet Management: Verizon Connect utilises automation and connected data to produce telematic services and solutions, allowing drivers to be safer, more efficient and more productive. Customers who use Verizon Connect’s products and have an internal program established around it, e.g. use the data to coach drivers or run optimised routes, have experienced a 13% decrease in idle time and an 11% reduction in harsh driving events, which lead to reduced fuel consumption (SDG 13), fewer accidents and greater safety (SDG 3).7 Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 Case Studies 41 GESICASE STUDY
Real-Time Response System
Description of the initiative SDG benefits First responders8 are trained to react to critical events The RTRS solution targets three SDGs in particular: 9 in a short space of time. The use of public safety • SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being: Improving technologies could help first responders reduce the reaction time to accidents and emergencies 10 fatalities in cities by up to 10%. Verizon invests its in urban areas can reduce fatalities caused by efforts to help with first responders and disaster road traffic accidents, a target under SDG 3. recovery, from building a Responder Private Core for When Genetec (who operated a legacy version of first responders to keep them better connected and the solution) introduced the system in Chicago provide them priority access during emergencies, in 2017, it reduced response times to events in to deploying mobile cell sites to areas that need the city’s two most at-risk districts by 24% and enhanced coverage as a result of natural disasters. 39% respectively.11 Verizon’s Real-Time Response System (RTRS) is one • SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities: The of Verizon’s solutions for first responders, designed solution increases urban security and the efficiency to collect and provide essential data to improve of emergency services within cities, having a decision-making in critical moments. positive impact on SDG 11. In addition, in the case RTRS integrates data from a swathe of sources to of natural disasters, RTRS can be used to provide provide one accurate and real-time view of the city for a clearer picture of changing conditions, improving first responders and city agencies. The solution can urban resilience to these situations. then identify patterns and trends to provide insights • SDG 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: for users, for example providing an alert if a gunshot RTRS equips law enforcement agencies to better is identified. Additionally, these insights can inform deal with crime and violence, promoting peaceful changes to improve response time to an incident. In urban societies as outlined by SDG 16. the example of an identified gunshot, insights from RTRS could be used to change traffic signals from red to green, allowing first responders to be routed efficiently to the scene. 42 Case Studies Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030
How it works RTRS collects data from a number of sources, to an incident. Additionally, the interface allows users including video sensors, record management systems, to plan for future events in the city and to analyse the and third party datasets, using Verizon’s fibre-optic effectiveness of public safety policies. 4G LTE and, soon, 5G mobile networks. The solution
CASE STUDY correlates data, based on time and location, and Scaling user-defined rules (e.g. if a license plate shows up Cities can adopt this technology to enhance public multiple times within a specified time) to then deliver safety capabilities, and connect previously isolated alerts to the central system. It can also send relevant sources of information. Collating data into one information to connected vehicles, communicating interface offers clarity about new public safety real-time information to first responders in the field. measures and incident patterns, allowing more informed responses to high-risk areas. As RTRS is The disparate data sources are assimilated on a hosted on the cloud, it requires minimal in-house IT single interface, hosted on the AWS GovCloud, where investment and support and can be scaled as needed. further analysis is undertaken. The RTRS interface not only allows users to monitor events as they arise, As this is a relatively new solution, Verizon is in but also to make informed decisions based on the discussions to roll out RTRS with a number of GESIinsights returned, for example, determining the most potential partners. appropriate emergency service or team to dispatch
User stories User stories “ A unified solution that “ When I was an acting Chief of provides a common operating Police, connecting information picture enhances situational from our disparate systems awareness and allows better to get a clearer picture of a planning, detection, response situation was a difficult and and prevention of incidents.” time-consuming task which - Jason Friedberg, Business Development often could lead to delays in Manager, Genetec Inc. (former Chief of Police at responses.” Bucknell University) Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 Case Studies 43 CASE STUDY
GESILooking forward As Verizon continues its nationwide deployment of 5G real-time insights to be delivered by drones, in the US, it will be able to support the creation of new improving situational awareness, and the ability to products and services to promote further progress respond, during natural disasters and emergencies towards the SDGs. A number of solutions are being (SDGs 3 and 11).13 developed and trialled internally. However, Verizon • BlueForce Development has developed software will also partner with companies that are developing for body-worn sensors and smartphones that can promising technologies to deliver change with 5G communicate the location and status of individual in the future. For example, the following companies police officers to command and control, as well are part of Verizon’s 5G First Responder Incubator as other officers. This solution provides near- Program, and may provide a view into the future immediate feedback to improve the coordination first responders: of efforts and the operational efficiency of police • Qwake Tech designed C-THRU, a product that uses forces (SDG 16).14 computer vision assisted AR to guide firefighters • Adcor Magnet Systems is developing solutions through an active fire with low to no visibility. 5G with smart sensors and AR that provide airborne, allows command and control to see a firefighter’s ground-based and sea-based situational awareness exact location; this improves the safety and using 5G, therefore improving public safety efficiency of firefighters, to promote safer living efforts (SDG 3).15 spaces for all (SDG 11).12 • Kiana Analytics is working to enhance physical • Aerial Applications is working with Verizon’s security at airports, campuses and large public Skyward drone automation platform to improve venues by analysing human behaviour, e.g. the future of public safety. Aerial is looking to use movements through an airport, using location-based 5G to optimise the performance of its AI-driven services, advanced analytics and 5G (SDG 3).16 analytics of drone videos. This could allow near
Wrap up In recent years, central government debt has It is evident from this example and the 5G-enabled remained high, or risen in some cases, in many solutions that Verizon and its partners are working to developed countries,17 which has stretched the deliver, that digital technologies will be increasingly capacity of emergency services. In Europe, for central to providing safe and lasting communities. example, the number of police officers per capita has They will enable residents to thrive, whilst limiting been declining since 2007.18 Emergency services cities’ impact on the world around them. must therefore innovate to increase their efficacy and uphold the aspirations of SDG 11 and 16. Verizon’s RTRS provides the means to improve the efficiency of public safety services, through more coherent and comprehensive access to data. 44 References Digital with Purpose: Delivering a SMARTer2030 References
Key Messages Case Study: EIT Climate-KIC 1. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/ 1. https://www.climate-kic.org/ 2. Defined in this report as digital access, fast internet, cloud, IoT, cognitive, digital 2. Overarching narrative EIT Climate-KIC reality, and blockchain 3. https://www.climate-kic.org/ 3. The SR15 Report, IPCC, 2018 4. Overarching narrative c-kic 5. https://www.climate-kic.org/ 6. https://www.climate-kic.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Climate-KIC-Annu- Executive Summary al-Report-2018.pdf 7. https://eit.europa.eu/news-events/news/eit-climate-kic-supported-winners-se- 1. This follows the Stockholm Resilience Centre’s groupings of the SDGs https://www. cures-over-eu15-million-funding stockholmresilience.org/ 8. https://www.climathttps://www.climate-kic.org/success-stories/winners/e-kic. 2. The SR15 Report, IPCC, 2018 org/success-stories/winners/ 9. https://www.climathttps://www.climate-kic.org/success-stories/winners/e-kic. GESIorg/success-stories/winners/ Case Study: AT&T 10. http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5251e.pdf http://www.fao.org/3/Y1860E/y1860e11.htm 1. https://about.att.com/pages/company_profile 11. Creating a sustainable global food supply chain: the WINnERs project 2. https://about.att.com/csr/home/environment/renewable-energy.html 12. http://www.winners-project.org/work-programmes/agriculture-weather-risk/ 3. https://about.att.com/ecms/dam/csr/PDFs/10x-ProgressReport-2019.pdf 13. http://www.winners-project.org/work-programmes/contract-design/ 4. https://about.att.com/ecms/dam/csr/PDFs/10x-ProgressReport-2019.pdf 14. http://www.winners-project.org/work-programmes/rural-adpatation/ 5. https://about.att.com/ecms/dam/csr/PDFs/10x-ProgressReport-2019.pdf 15. https://eit.europa.eu/news-events/news/eit-climate-kic-supported-winners-se- 6. https://about.att.com/ecms/dam/csr/aug2018/Grind2EnergyCase%20Study_FI- cures-over-eu15-million-funding NAL.pdf 16. http://www.winners-project.org/news/2016/nov/29/how-partnerships-can-cre- 7. http://www.fao.org/save-food/resources/keyfindings/en/ ate-resilient-food-supply-/ 8. The impacts were estimated using food waste data from January 2018 to Septem- ber 2018 which was then extrapolated to estimate annual savings. 9. Allison K. Mihalich, Sr. Program Director of Sustainability, University of Notre Dame, Indiana Case Study: T-Mobile 10. https://news.nd.edu/news/new-system-to-tackle-nonconsumable-food-waste- 1. https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2019/07/11/one-step-closer-nation- contribute-to-clean-energy-needs-of-local-farm/ wide-5g-t-mobile-qualcomm-and-ericsson-take-massive 11. http://nrra.net/sweep/the-cost-to-landfill-msw-in-the-us-continues-to-rise-de- 2. https://www.t-mobile.com/responsibility/sustainability spite-soft-demand/ 3. https://www.t-mobile.com/news/tree-mobile-2019 12. https://nrra.net/sweep/no-end-in-sight-to-us-landfill-cost-increases-pacific-re- gion-to-experience-highest-growth/ Case Study: Verizon Case Study: Deutsche Telekom 1. https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-5g-ultra-wideband-explained 2. https://www.verizon.com/about/sites/default/files/corporate-responsibility-re- 1. http://origin.who.int/phe/health_topics/outdoorair/databases/background_infor- port/2018/priorities/goals.html mation/en/index2.html 3. https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-goes-carbon-neutral-2035 2. https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/air-pollution/causes 4. https://www.barrons.com/articles/these-stocks-are-winning-as-ceos-push-for-a- 3. https://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/35515.wss, https://www. sustainable-future-51549657527?mod=bol-social-tw apcoa.com/press/press-releases/article/apcoa-parking-study-search-for-park- 5. http://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/eprint/15347/1/TWI2050_Report08112018.pdf ing-space-devours-time-and-money/, https://store.frost.com/strategic-analysis- 6. https://enterprise.verizon.com/en-gb/products/internet-of-things/smart-cit- of-smart-parking-market-in-europe-and-north-america.html ies-and-communities/ 4. https://www.who.int/airpollution/ambient/health-impacts/en/ 7. https://www.verizonconnect.com/resources/article/best-fleet-manage- 5. https://www.telekom.com/en/company/details/park-and-joy-soon-available-in- ment-2019/ 28-cities-536802 8. I.e. those who generally arrive first at an emergency 6. https://www.t-systems.com/de/en/references/overview/reference/park-and- 9. https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/first-responders joy-776696 10. https://enterprise.verizon.com/resources/whitepapers/transforming-public-safe- 7. https://www.telekom.com/en/company/details/park-and-joy-soon-available-in- ty-with-safe-cities-technologies.pdf 28-cities-536802 11. https://www.genetec.com/about-us/news/press-center/press-releases/gene- tec-announces-citigraf-new-public-safety-decision-support-system 12. https://www.qwake.tech/ 13. https://www.aerialapplications.com/blog/recap-aerial-applications-at-the-veri- zon-5g-first-responder-lab 14. http://www.blueforcedev.com/ 15. https://adcormagnetsystems.com 16. https://kiana.io 17. https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/CG_DEBT_GDP@GDD/CHN/FRA/ DEU/ITA/JPN/GBR/USA/FADGDWORLD/GTM/MNG/MAR/SVN/SRB 18. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Police,_court_ and_prison_personnel_statistics#One_police_officer_per_309_people This document is an excerpt from the full report, for more information visit: digitalwithpurpose.gesi.org GESI To fully support the transformation required by the SDGs, digital technologies need to be developed and deployed with positive societal impact in mind and within a context of shared aspiration: digital with purpose.
This document is an excerpt from the full report, for more information visit: GESIdigitalwithpurpose.gesi.org